‘Stranger Things 2’: The Original Plan For Sean Astin’s Bob Was Very Different

In Stranger Things 2, the latest season of the hit Netflix seriesStranger Things, Sean Astin delivers a memorable performance as the lovably dorky Bob, boyfriend to Winona Ryder‘s character Joyce. Bob’s storyline unfolds in unexpected ways, but Stranger Things producers Dan Cohen and Shawn Levy recently revealed that there was a much different plan for Bob before the show began filming. Get the details below, and beware of SPOILERS.

Sean Astin is pretty damn great as Bob on Stranger Things 2. A new addition to the cast, Astin’s Bob is almost painfully nice. So nice, in fact, that I found myself expecting a twist that revealed the character turned out to be secretly evil. But no! Bob is just a very nice guy, and very much smitten with his new girlfriend Joyce (Winona Ryder).

Unfortunately, Bob meets a tragic fate near the end of Stranger Things 2. Bob’s untimely death was always planned for some point during the second season, but producers Dan Cohen and Shawn Levy recently revealed that the original plan for the character’s death was much, much different. Levy said (via Collider) that a very early plan involved a major character killing off Bob:

“We had talked about the death of some major characters, that may or may not happen in the future near or far. But that was never part of the discussion for Season 2. The death of Bob was initially much earlier. In fact, in an early outline, Evil Will kills him in like Episode 3.”

Levy is referring to main character Will Byers (Noah Schnapp). Will was sucked into the alternate dimension known as the Upside Down in season 1, and season 2 deals with the character dealing with PTSD following his return to the real world. On top of that, he’s also having visions of a towering entity known as the Shadow Monster. During season 2, Will finds himself possessed by the Shadow Monster, and Levy seems to be suggesting that, in one version of the season, Will murdered Bob.

Personally, I’m glad they nixed this idea. For one thing, Bob deserved more than to die off in the third episode. For another, having Will kill someone – even while technically possessed – would just be too drastic a moment to ever come back from. The character would always have that murder hanging over his head.

This isn’t the first time Stranger Things has changed the fate of a character. Originally, Steve – the character with the best damn hair on the show – had a much smaller part in the first season, but Joe Keery’s great performance made the Duffer Brothers give him a much bigger part.

While Will doesn’t end up killing Bob in Stranger Things 2, Bob does ultimately come to a brutal end when he’s eaten by demodogs, the Demogoron-like creatures who wreck havoc through season 2. Bob’s death is still tragic, and it would’ve been nice if he had made it into season 3, but at least we got a bit more of him than originally planned.